Author: Brandon Peoples

Pawnee Mental Health is planning to move some of its operations into downtown Manhattan. CEO Robbin Cole informed the Riley County Commission Monday that adult services currently provided at the Hayes Drive facility will eventually move to a building at 4th and Houston Street, across from the organization’s administrative offices. That will allow more services to be offered at the Hayes drive location, where the Crisis Stabilization Center is located. As for a timetable, Cole says the transition of those services likely will occur by the end of the coming fiscal year. Pawnee also has leased space in on Anderson…

Geary County Sheriff Dan Jackson has announced his retirement. Jackson was sworn in as the Sheriff in May 2019, bringing stability to the position which had become vacant when former Sheriff Tony Wolf resigned amid legal troubles. Jackson then ran and was elected to a four year term as Sheriff in 2020. He leaves with just under a year remaining in his term. According to a release from Geary County, Jackson joined the Sheriff’s Office in June 2014 on road patrol and retired as a patrol lieutenant in 2018, returning about a year later to join the investigations unit. During…

The City of Manhattan’s Public works crews are taking advantage of the fact that students are away for the winter break to get started on the relocation of a 24-inch water main along Denison Ave, near the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF). City officials say beginning Monday, Denison Ave. will be closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic south of Kimball Ave. to begin the project. The temporary closure will allow for the removal and reconstruction of Denison as part of the ongoing North Campus Corridor project. Crews are planning a two-week closure of that area, depending on weather. The…

Kansas State University officials broke ground Friday on a new events center for the Animal Sciences Program. The project is part of the university’s larger multimillion dollar Agriculture Innovation Initiative, which includes a host of facilities updates within the College of Agriculture. It was the second such groundbreaking for the College of Agriculture this year, following a ceremony in May for the Agronomy Research and Innovation Center. Both coincidentally took place on rainy days. Friday’s ceremony was held inside the Stanley Stout Center, on the northern edge of the campus. Dean Ernie Minton says the new facility will improves upon…

City officials in St. Marys say one person was killed in a house fire Thursday afternoon. Fire crews were called out around 2 p.m. to the house near 8th and Linn Streets in St. Marys. The City of St. Marys Police and Fire Department shared on its social media that one person was found dead inside, but did not identify them. The cause of death and circumstances surrounding the fire remain under investigation by the state Fire Marshall. Further information is pending and city officials say that information will be provided at a later date, due to the nature of…

Shelly Williams, the longtime director of Riley County Community Corrections, has announced she will retire in the spring, following three decades of service to the state of Kansas. The 1992 K-State graduate began her career at Central Kansas Community Corrections in Great Bend, before accepting a position in April 1994 with Riley County Community Corrections. During her time with the agency, Williams has served as a juvenile intensive probation officer and as a facilitator for juvenile justice reform under former Chief Judge Meryl Wilson. Williams was promoted to Director in 2007, following the retirement of Frank McCoy. She expresses what…

Riley County Police have made an arrest in an ongoing rape investigation. On Thursday, 21-year-old Jack Adams, of Iola, was jailed on a single count of rape. Police say the charge stems from an April 2022 incident. No further details will be released, due to the nature of the crime. Adams was released after posting a $75,000 bond.

Authorities are investigating a theft reported Thursday at the Army National Guard on Levee Drive. RCPD says a 21-year-old woman reported an unknown suspect removed a lock and stole military gear. The estimated total loss is a little more than $3,200. Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers.

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran is applauding the Senate’s passage of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. In a statement Wednesday, Moran said the annual spending bill “invests in our nation’s weapons stockpiles and technology, provides support and resources for our military families and makes strategic investments to fortify our defenses against adversaries like China and Russia.” He also says the deal makes strategic investments along the southern border. Among Moran’s priorities within the NDAA are new investments at Fort Riley, including $105 million authorized for construction of an Aircraft Maintenance Hangar, $1.6 million for the planning and design of a…

A Wamego woman and her child died following a collision with a semi truck Wednesday in rural Marion County. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the semi was stopped in a work zone on US Highway 56, waiting for a flagger. Shortly after 11 a.m. a passenger car driven by 43-year-old Jessica Henson, failed to stop, striking the rear end of the semi truck. Henson and her young child, who was a passenger, were both pronounced dead at the scene. It remains unclear if either was properly restrained at the time of the crash. The truck driver, 21-year-old Trevor Stevens, of…